I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the Fairmont. The high ceilings made no sure there was no noise at all from the other floors. I checked in around 4:30pm on a Friday and had no issues, and finally the food although a little pricy was top of the line. Finally the location of this hotel is one of the best places in New Orleans. Close to the Casino, French Quarter, and Bourbon Street. I saw some negative reviews and was cautious, but after staying there I was very impressed.

When we visited New Orleans, we found the Fairmont to be comfortable, accomodating and beautiful. Our room was on the 14th floor affording a nice view out over the city. Our king-size bed was comfortable and clean. The bathroom was the only place we had the least bit to complain about, and that was taken care of immediately (small spot of mildew along the bottom of the curtain). The food from room service was terrific - really good burger. We didn't notice an inordinate amount of noise from outside the hotel or in the hallway. The room was not heavily decorated, but was tasteful and comfortable, and who rents a hotel room in New Orleans of all places for the paintings in their hotel room? The music from their lounge was lively and very good. My only regret for staying at this hotel was that I didn't get to stay and enjoy both the lodging and the city longer. Well worth $129.

I stayed at the Fairmont as part of a week long workshop. The public areas were extremely nice, but the sleeping room floors were lacking. The hotel is a combination of at least 2, maybe more, old hotels. This leads to ramps/stairs in the middle of the hall, "A" and "B" floors in part of the hotel, and corridors that wind and wander for what seems forever. My room was at the corner of what must have been the oldest hotel. I think the room was taller than it was wide or deep. I had a nice bathroom compared to other reviews. But, the airconditioning was NON EXISTENT. I called the front desk, and maintenance responded quickly. They worked on the thermostat and then checked the temperature of the air in the grill (there was no air coming out of the grill), and then said they would check to make sure the damper in the hall was completely opened. It never got better. It appears that there are central units that feed the rooms. Since I was at the end of the run, I got whatever air was left over; which was very minimal. The cordless phone in my room also didn't work, and I reported it at the same time as the airconditioning. The maintenance guy said someone else had to work on the phone. It was never fixed in the week I was there. The doors have vents in them as part of the airconditioning system (which, to reiterate, REALLY needs to be completely replaced), so you do get noises from the corridor. My room had the bathroom to the side, so my bed was within 3 feet of the door. My room looked at Canal Street over the roofs of the adjacent businesses, but I had to keep the drapes closed the whole time due to the lack of air conditioning. The corridors with cheap fluorescent light fixtures and low quality acoustical tile ceilings are not in keeping with the character or the expectations of this type of hotel. In July 2004, I stayed at the Astor Crowne Plaza for the same workshop, and would recommend that property over the Fairmont.

This really should be listed as a two star hotel - it certainly is not up to the usual standards of other Fairmont properties. Very run down and in serious need of a major renovation - some of the rooms are big all right but are then sparsely furnished with outdated old items. Not particularly clean. The staff seem to be trying to cope as best they can. The immedate area around the hotel is seedy so you have to walk through characters hanging around on the corners. There is a big drugstore nearby which is handy. For likely the same price there are better properties further down or just off Canal Street. Switched to the Hilton which was in fact cheaper for a business class, well appointed room with access to the top floor lounge for breakfast and afternoon nibbles - like night and day by comparison. I shoudl have paid heed to the reviews on this and other sites but I figured those might just been planted by other hotels or from unreasonalbe people - nope, they were right.